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“Imagine you lived in a small town and then imagine you couldn’t travel more then a few miles from that town. This is the problem that the residents of Candelaria, Texas face every single day. The only reason they live there is to send their children off to school on the U.S. side, because the school on the Mexican side is in complete shambles. The closest town with a grocery store is one hour away and for fear of deportation they cannot even travel to buy food. They must rely on anyone who is willing to help them. Most of the men work on the Mexican side but their wages are so small that most families have 4, 5, or even 6 people living in small trailers made only for a couple of people.”

Alberto Garcia along with a group of filmmakers and Producers are looking to develop a small documentary on Candelaria and the hardships the undocumented residents of the small community encounter on a daily basis.

They call it “Lost City”, an independent documentary about the hardships of the people of Candelaria, TX. Undocumented and trapped in their own town.

Alberto Garcia was the creator of the film, “An American Dream”.

“Three years ago I started a film called An American Dream a movie about the immigration debate raging in the United States. Two years after I began the film it was picked up by The Documentary Channel and aired every month for 2 years across the United States. It was viewed by more then 500,000 people, our voice about immigration was heard. Now with my small crew I want to repeat that process with this new movie called The Lost City, our voice can and will be heard across the country.”

Airplanes, Airports, Flying…sigh! From having to deal with the long lines, to the over-crowded gates, over-priced food, snacks, water…. The idea of being in an airplane (no matter what size it be), gives me the chills. Having to be stuck seated for maybe 30 min all up to a dozen hours? Gives me anxiety… The experience is annoying and/or claustrophobic… and being here (currently in an airplane) only makes me miss my family road trips! Because before airplanes became more common and affordable (at least to my family) we used to travel by car! How I miss those long family road trips to Mexico! Let me explain…

Our family road trips didn’t consist of a nagging, “are we there yet?” or of awkward silences, headphones etc. Back in the day, or since I was “born” my family and I would take several road trips throughout the year, but it was that end of the year road trip that stood out amongst them all. Five people in one car headed out from Watsonville, Ca to Jocotepec, Jalisco, Mexico. “Insane!” “Uggh”, you’re thinking? Not really. I would say it’s a pretty normal thing for families to experience at least ONCE (it’s very common) when traveling down south to visit their families in Mexico. As soon as mid December hits, (my estimation) hundreds, thousands of people hop in their car, truck, SUV and drive all together SOUTH of the border.

As soon as school would be out and my parents got vacation time, the family of five would head out. We would take games, music, movies but they would mostly remain untouched. Instead, We would take pictures, make videos (yes, in the car), sing together, have heart-to-heart’s with each other, share tears and so on. Typically, a drive from Watsonville to Jocotepec, Jalisco, Mexico would take you two days… it would take us almost three! We would drive during the day; stop to have breakfast, lunch and dinners in restaurants where we’d usually take longer than we’d plan on. We would randomly stop when we were all tired in a hotel and get some sleep. From doing it year after year, I can say, crossing the border and driving that far of a distance is the most breath-taking, wakening, and interesting experience. Just imagine for one second… driving from California, leaving the states, driving not only south but also crossing THE BORDER. I saw things I would have never seen otherwise and I am very grateful for that.

So after taking our sweet time to get to Mexico, we’d arrive and it would all be over. My father would then spend most of his time in his town, San Pedro Tesistan with his family and friends, my mom would exhaust my grandparent’s with her presence 🙂 and my sisters and I would disperse into our group of friends and our closest cousins.

Now, we have exchanged those memorable experiences for a four-hour obnoxious flight…. I am currently sitting in an airplane writing this blog, reminiscing, on my way to Mexico, alone. Although I can’t change the fact that we highly rely on airplanes and that my family and I will probably never drive to Mexico together again, I am glad that it is something which I got to experience and that I could write about and share with you. My name is Joanna and I love taking road trips with my family…I hope I’m not the only one that feels this way.